Are you hosting the holiday party in your child's classroom or throwing a holiday celebration for your own classroom? Have no fear! The holiday party doesn't have to be stressful to be a success. To me, a successful party is a memorable and fun one. That's it. And as long as the kids are doing something out of their routine and there is any sort of food involved, they are happy. A successful classroom party consists of a few key things: food, stations, a craft, and a physical activity of some sort if there's room. Today, I am sharing seven easy ideas I've used to throw a holiday party.
First of all, know the kids. Think about the school you are hosting for and be sure to follow any guidelines they have already established. Obviously, if you are hosting at a private school, the theme might be very different than a public school. Themes range from reindeer to animal tails to emoji to Peanuts® You can find Faith-Based Ideas HERE. My current favorite is this Nordic theme!! I love the bright colors and the super adorable faces all of the characters. If you are hosting for elementary age kids, I know they will love it! The characters are just too cute!!
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Create a food station with a chocolate fountain. This involves the easiest party food prep you'll meet. You don't have to cook anything! And because the chocolate is flowing down a fountain, it just looks (and sounds) fancy. When in fact, the effort is minimal. Just take different foods you can dip in chocolate, cut those up, heat up the chocolate fountain, get everything running, and voila! If you are lucky to have parents send in items, use Sign-Up Genius or other platform to have everyone contribute in some way. Suggestions on what to serve: any fruit, pretzels, marshmallows, pound cake, angel food cake, etc. Yum!
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Students can rotate through a craft station. There are so many crafts students can complete, it can be hard to choose. My suggestion: choose anything that involves either handprints, fingerprints, or pictures of the children at that age. These are definitely "keepers" to parents. This particular ornament craft uses fingerprints to make a reindeer. It really is easy and turns out adorable. You can see all the details here.
Make The Craft
If you or another parent volunteer need to set-up while the kids are in the classroom, I suggest putting out something quiet for them to complete (without any help from you). A coloring page is perfect for the kids to complete during this time. Another idea is to have the party right after recess and/or lunch. This way the kids are completely out of the room and you and any helpers can set-up without any interruptions. Plus, it sure makes for exciting faces when they enter the classroom.
Get It
Almost all kids like putting something in front of their face, being silly, and taking a picture. Setting up a photo booth is so easy and the kids will have a blast! I love this photo booth kit for the holiday classroom party.
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If you are a teacher, a small gift that doesn't break the bank, can go a long way. The look on the kids' faces when you hand them a small gift is priceless. They just can't believe you would give them anything. If you are a parent, a book exchange is another fun idea. Every child brings a book under $5 to swap with another kid. Check out this post where I share a fun idea on a small gift. I just put the gift items in these super cute bags. The shapes of the Santa, reindeer, and snowmen pop off of the bag. How fun, right?!
Make The Craft
If you choose to have all of the above as stations, this activity would fit right in. To keep chaos from ensuring, make sure only 2-4 students are at this station at a time. As you can imagine, kids have a lot of excited energy during the party. This gives the kids a way to let some of that energy out without going over the top. I love this bowling set! It matches the Nordic Noel theme perfectly!
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